Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-12-14
OLD MoRLp WORSHIP.
Crucifixes at The Crossroads or
Austria and Bavaria

| feW Things were more lulcIcSlluS 70
/ me than the different modes of worship
/ that / saw among the various nations
whose countries travelled on my tour
around the world on bicycle From
! the irIeligious cowboy of the wild west,
/ who prides himself ON caring for neither
/ God, man nor devil, 10 the gentle Hin
/ doc penitent dragging his emaciated
/ body hundreds of miles that he may die
/ on the banks of the sacred Ganges, are
many interesting forms OF worship,
many strange beliefs
! In travelling along the roads Of CathO-
/ lie Europe one of the most impressive
/ things tO the Obseryant American Is the
/ big cruciiixe erected at the crossroads.
As one gets farther eastward into
| Catholic Bavaria and Austria these
| rrOssroad cruciiiXes present very Curl
| Gus appearance. Attached to the cross
/ like frame are seen saws, axes, plow-
i shares, hayrakes, pltchforks, spades
/ and all manner of agricultural rnple-
meuts. Sometimes the crucihxes are
varied 10y snug little brick shrines con-
/ tanning images Of the Virgin Mary,
/ Suudry of the saints and various Roman
| Catholic paraphernalia- Candles are
/ burnt before the little doll like images
OF these wayside saints on holy days
/ anu NoLANt bAtAAAlEo aAAN AAAeA-N - N.-N
/ superstitIOus peasantry.
Z Five times day, IN MOhamlnedan
| countries, the muezZin goes up on 10
/ the balcony of the tall minaret and sings
out in "A voice that can be heard half
nile away: There is no God but one
| God, and MOhammed is his prophet"
/ Hearing this the devout Mussulman
/ mmmurs "'Allah-il-Allah' in response,
/ and pausing in whatever he may be do
/ ing he spreads his coat or something on
| the ground, slips his shoes off and, pros
/ tratng himself several times toward
| Mecca, recites sundry passages OF the
/ Koran. When the MoEammedan
enters the sacred precincts of the mos
que he leaves his shoes at the door and
enters i'm his stOckinged feet or in light
| slippers especially provided at the door
/ lbs an attendant. The headgear Is
never removed 10y the Mu>sulmanS for
religious exercises, is with ourselves
One of the most sanctimOniOus ludi-
v.duils in the world Is the Persian. Be
longing 10 the shah branch of the Mo-
hamme,ltn faith, the Persians fairly
outdo the Test of the world, not except
ing even our uOb'e Christian selves, III
considering themselves the elect OF all
the peoples Of the earth. In passing a
Y lAA lSAlatlA III AllN AtALsiAS AAAt NAoAsAAA
imam or seyced VIII gather his flowing /.
gown closely about him, lest Perchauce /
IL should brush against the infdel and T,
contamiuate hIm 10y the contact These I
people, too, would as soon think of 1
committing suicide as drinking water .
from the same cup rs "A Christian. The .
PcTSIans are far more fanatical than
the Turks. | have been inside plenty
of Turkish mosques, and have stood On
the miuaret balcony with the mueZZln
and listened 10 him shouting the sum
mons 10 PRAYER; but 10 penetrate into a
Persian mosque would mean trouble
Five times a day the Persian halts IN
" hat-ver he may be doing, and, pros
tuttIug himself toward Mecca, mumbleS
his prayers. rs general thing he car
lies. stowed away in his hammerbund,
q small oval cake Of holy clay, from the
sacred soil of Mecca, Meshed or her- ,
tlla, which he places on the ground
leiore him a. he Frays. Every time he (
,ro>tUates himself he touches his fore {
le;ui 20 the bit of Stcred clay instead of ,
he common earth. by this process he
: supposed to absorb a certain portion
II the spiritual advantages appeTtain- !
NJ TO the wuTshIppeU dwelling or visit =
NJ AZ the holy city itself.
More fanaiical and dangerous, be-
'ause less civilized and more warlIke !
hIu their Persian ueighbOTs, are the
AfghauS. These valiant and turbulent
Warriors of Islam present the extreme {
wing of MuSsulman fanaticiSm and re- ,
igiUus feryOr these days. To that
strange, wild country in southern khO-
-lSSan my mind wauders ntuitively
whenever l think Of the Mohammedan
religion and its faithful devotees.
When ut sunset the people would turn
toward the west Mecca being west
from that country and perform their
customary prOstrItO OLs and prayers
they would fall 70 wondering among
themselves why II was that | too did
not follow suit. Why was it that |, of
all the people there, omitted to bow my
forehead to the gro nj and sing out,
There is no God save one God, and
Nohammcd iS his prophet | used To
explain To them that most Christians
devote one day out of seven To the wOr-
ship of Allah, and appropriate the re-
manning six 10 their own use. At this /
they would regard me with greater as
tonishment than ever.
As we pursue our course through 4
India the people who now stare i'll mute
wonderment ut the bicycle are heathenS
who Will have none of the Christian or .
lslamIte God. Tie gods they worship I
are numberleSS almost as the blades of /
grass in meadow. The Hindoos have /
invested many things with the order of |
SIuctity. The trees are sacred; rivers.
mountains, birds and animals are OBJ |
iectS of worship and yeuerItiOn. Now I.
and then l came across "A tree, a neem.
beel, peepul or banyan, streaked with l
red paint. This would be tree especi- /
ally selected for the purpose of worship /
as representing some particular god.
The God the HindOO travellers or out /
lying villagers could not have with them !
always, but they could always have the /
tree, and 50 10y wOrshipping the tree, his |
representative, would they gain the ear /
OF some hideOuS idol sitting in state in |
his chIyala at Benares. \ common /
sight would be that of ring of duskv |
natives formed around sacred tree.
prustrItinS themselves and paying their /
devotiOns.
The natives of Bengal seemed to me /
to fall down and worship almost any |
thing that contributed TO their animal |
comforts. There Is something grotes- |
quely practical in paying ones devotion /
10 bowl of rice or a jar of arrack, and |
this Is what the bland and worshipful /
Bengal villaser does every day in the I
year.
The worship of John Chinaman is So /
mixed up with superstition and with /
helthenIsh rites and ceremonies for the /
prupltiatlou Of EVIL spirits that il would l
take a good sized volume To give any |
adequate idea of it ut all. joss sticks. |
lighted paper, tirecrackers and all sorts I
ot uncanny things are employed to pro- |
tect the Celestial from the myriads of !
evil spirits Iuhdbiting earth, air and |
water, and which are ever ready 10
pounce out and do him harm. The !
Idps-weh, the Japs seemed TO me
,omlcal, even at their devotionS. The /
gentle followers of Buddhism and Shin |
loISm seemed TO me like happy children
playing 1t being religious, Just rs they
SEEMED TO be playing at keeping shop,
playing at beIn. farmers, artisans,
priests and boatmen.